The filmmakers were given remarkable freedom to record the historic 1984 contract negotiations between the United Auto Workers and General Motors Corporation. Bob White, labour leader of the Canadian branch of the UAW, must also confront his American counterpart from Detroit and succeeds in arriving at a contract that is significantly Canadian. His members had already given him a mandate to fight for independence from the American union. This is an invaluable document for anyone interested in the complexities of United States-Canada relations. It's an extraordinary film about revolutionary events.
Direction
Unprecedented access to closed-door corporate warfare.
Editing
Builds genuine suspense from negotiation transcripts.
Director
Sturla Gunnarsson
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
This directly led to the creation of the Canadian Auto Workers as an independent union in 1985, fundamentally reshaping North American labour relations.
Director Sturla Gunnarsson was only 28 and had just graduated from film school when he embedded for this shoot.
CA
